Will we soon have to give our details to a restaurant or bar in Paris? For now, phone tracking is not implemented in the French capital, but it already is in Belgium, Germany and even Switzerland and arouses interest of some people such as Paris health deputy mayor Anne Souyris. She would like restaurateurs and bar managers to set up a phone tracking system for their patrons, based on volunteering. “We really should do like in Germany” she said on July 26 to Le Parisien.
Same call for Hôpital de la Pitié-Salpêtrière infectious diseases unit head and professor Eric Caumes. Invited on BFMTV on July 17, he said: “This is what we should do to make tracing easier and got back up the contamination chain as fast as possible”.
For now, only the city of Montereau-Fault-Yonne in Seine-et-Marne imposes this system to swimmers enjoying Montereau Plage. Accessible since July 25 and until August 23, 2020, the beach attracts people, especially when it is very hot. So, to avoid any possible Covid-19 contamination, the city’s mayor had decided to set up a detail-tracking system. The concept? Collecting details of each person coming in or out of Montereau Plage. If there is one case of Covid-19 suspected and identified afterwards, people who came on the dame half-day are contacted.
Yet, in Belgium, the phone tracking system is far more common since all bars and restaurants are doing so. Based on volunteering, patrons can give their phone or email details if they want to be contacted if someone has tested positive for Covid-19. And managers and owners must delete patrons’ details after two weeks.
